The Yangzhou army deployed Ma Zhong, and these days it only ordered all departments to strengthen the construction of the barracks. Without him, Wu Yue's army was defeated in Changzhou, and the Yangzhou army became a lone army in Runzhou, and its back was on the Yangtze River.

In addition to the camp at the east gate of Yangzhou, Ma Zhong built a camp according to Beigu Mountain, forming a defensive posture of 5,000 garrisons at the east gate, 3,000 garrisons at Taohuadu Water Village, and more than 20,000 people stationed in the Beigushan camp.

The main force of the Song army was in Jinling, and the Wu Yue army, the main force of the eastern front, was defeated, and the defeat was too bad, and Wu Yue estimated that he would not send another army for a while. On the Tang Army's side, the Changzhou Army and the Ning Guojun were vacant, but it was easy to feel uncomfortable to come to the Changzhou Army, and the Ning Guojun returned to Xuanzhou, and they should not come to aid Runzhou for a while. What I was worried about was the Lu Jiang Department who came to Jinling's aid this time.

The Runzhou army had no fighting spirit, and almost closed the city. However, Lu Jiang's department was very active, and the two sides frequently engaged scouts and squads in the east of Runzhou City. Ma Zhong had to take a defensive position, but what good was it to waste food and salary so much?

was having a headache when he heard a small colonel break in: "General, good news!" After the Runzhou Festival stayed, Liu Cheng sent someone to see the general! ”

After Ma Zhong heard about the people from Runzhou, he couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"Does the general suspect Liu Cheng of surrendering?" There was a commander and asked Ma Zhong.

"This Liu Cheng can't control the Runzhou Army, even the guards he brought from Jinling, and there are also different opinions. Then where did he get the confidence to march after driving Lu Jiang away? Ma Zhong was also quite disdainful.

It turned out that Liu Cheng's envoy came, just saying that the reinforcements from Jinling, Lu Jiang, had been driven away by his envoy. It's just that at present, the various departments of the Runzhou Army have different opinions, and there are still some high-ranking generals who leave angrily during the military discussion; Now even the guards he brought from Jinling cannot be fully mastered. Therefore, Liu Cheng now feels that he is in danger, so he is afraid of mutiny. Now the four gates are stationed in the generals, and only the north gate is under the control of Liu Cheng's absolutely reliable henchmen. Liu Cheng was worried that the night would be long and dreamy, so he only suggested that the Song soldiers should make an appointment to attack the city in these days, and it was best to move to the north gate at night, and then enter the city from the north gate in the early morning, then the major event would be decided.

According to Liu Cheng's envoy, when the Song soldiers entered the city, as long as they pounced on the Assassin's Mansion and occupied the key yamen such as the Assassin's Mansion, the rest of the Tang army would be able to pass on the news. Ma Zhong felt that this was not true, but it was a Thai possibility, because Liu Cheng already felt that the city was not safe, so he could only be trapped in the Assassin's Mansion and did not dare to show his face, so he asked Song Bing to rescue him as soon as possible.

As for what danger there could be after the Song soldiers entered the city, Ma Zhong didn't think it. It's just that I'm always a little uneasy in my heart, but I can't think of anything wrong.

"It's too late tomorrow. Then contact the north gate of Runzhou tomorrow night, and enter from the north gate early the next morning! Ma Zhong thought about it, he didn't think that Liu Cheng could play any tricks, but he was really afraid that Liu Cheng would be killed, so he would have a great opportunity like me.

The next day, the Song army quietly adjusted its deployment. When it was late, the Song army was outside the north gate, covering the lantern with red silk, three bright and three dark, and so on for a while. There was no response at the north gate for a long time, and the Song army was in a hurry, when he saw a red lantern lit up on the north gate, and then it was also bright and dark.

Ma Zhong got the report, and he was also excited, so he ordered the gang to make cooking cakes overnight, and sent them to more than 10,000 strikers at the fourth watch, and then rushed to the north gate overnight, so that he could enter the city early in the morning and conquer the city in one fell swoop.

In Runzhou City, Li Congyi was also cheering up Lu Jiang and the senior generals of the Zhu Runzhou Army: "Our army also fought with more than 1,000 Song soldiers in the Changzhou Army, but it is on par with the elite of the Wu Yue Army, so how arrogant is Ding Deyu?" Isn't it still the same as the head? After everyone goes back, we must convey it layer by layer, first, let every soldier understand that the Song soldiers were put into the city by us on our own initiative to kill, and our flesh and blood, swords and guns are the strongest city walls; The second is to tell every soldier that Song Bing also has two arms and two legs, and it is a dead word if he falls into our trap. ”

Li Congyi repeatedly told him that he was afraid that the Song soldiers would enter the city tomorrow, but the grassroots soldiers would not know the situation and fall into chaos, so everything would be over. Although some people did not think much of Li Congyi's request to tell every soldier about the battle plan, Li Congyi repeatedly demanded that the commanders of all wings, armies, and battalions also chatter.

After sending off the generals, Li Congyi went to Lu Shilang's staff office. Unexpectedly, Lu Jiang rushed over in front of him, and he was also here to watch the sand table. Seeing Li Congyi come in, Lu Jiang smiled: "Lord Guogong's staff office is really powerful, it is this sand table, and it is necessary for the command of the first army." ”

"After this war, I want to form a fourth field division. This set will definitely match. Li Congyi smiled faintly. This is almost a naked solicitation of Lu Jiang.

Lu Jiang laughed and didn't answer.

Li Congyi didn't say anything more, after all, the battle of Runzhou has not yet ended, and some words are better to wait until the battle is won.

Unexpectedly, Lu Jiang suddenly said again: "I heard that Lord Guogong bought several thousand-stone warships from Jinling Shipyard; Pity me for being deployed along the river, my eyes have been red for many years, and I haven't gotten a single one. ”

Li Congyi is also a ledge, this Lu Jiang is also quite interesting, he didn't respond just now, it turned out that Lu Jiang wanted to seek the position of the water army. However, the thousand-stone warship is so expensive, and only the Divine Guard Navy of the Hukou defenders and the first-class sailors along the Yangtze River can get it. Li Congyi can get it, except for the title of Jiang Guogong, he mainly relies on his own money. Of course, no matter how loyal Lu Jiang is, it is impossible for him to take out so much money to allocate a thousand stone warships to the water village of the Qinhuai River. "It's easy to say, when this battle is over, let's talk about it." Li Congyi also laughed.

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In order not to be detected by the Song army, Cui Feihu's first division was stationed twenty miles away from Runzhou. The staff departments at the military headquarters and division headquarters have repeatedly conducted war games, but Cui Feihu is still inevitably nervous. In Changzhou, there is Jiang Guogong on top, and this will, as the main force of the first division, stand alone, and the pressure is naturally greater.

Before departure, the 1st Division was greatly strengthened. Three better-trained and well-equipped regiments were transferred from the Third Division, turning the three brigades of the First Division into four regiments, with a total strength of more than 15,000 troops.

In the past few days, the First Division has gone to bed early every day and then got up early. It's the same today, but in the middle of the night, Cui Feihu was woken up.

After the fourth watch, the temporary camps of the three brigades of the 1st Division were brought to life. After the fifth watch, the main forces of each brigade set off in turn and headed for the preset battlefield.

At this time, in the Song soldiers' Beigushan barracks, 10,000 soldiers had also been distributed with cooking cakes and hot soup, and after eating, they did not light torches, but walked slowly in the night. At that time, there was a shortage of meat, and many soldiers had night blindness. If you don't light a torch, you can only pull people with ropes and stumble forward.

Ning Guojun is much better, Li Congyi made a lot of pickled fish from the sea, and some people were not used to the fishy smell at first, but fish is also meat, and it is also delicious when added to the rice. In addition, Li Congyi also specially asked the logistics department to buy pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and fish into the water, and to make all kinds of messy stews for the soldiers to eat and replenish vitamins. At first, Dong Jingye thought that Jiang Guogong's taste was really strong, but later found that the dishes made according to Jiang Guogong's requirements were still delicious. Then, in about three months, the night blind soldiers recruited from the countryside were healed.

With this foundation, coupled with the fact that the Ning Guojun had already had night combat training, it was naturally not difficult for the First Division to run twenty miles in an hour. Fifteen thousand people, in the darkness before dawn, went to the Taohuadu Water Village in Runzhou.

Zhou Yuanying is now the head of a group. At this time, he was also leading his mount. Although it was felt that the Song army would not be as vigilant as it was, and would not give up monitoring the perimeter at night, the 1st Division would be lenient with the enemy in everything, so that the horses, mules, and oxen were all chewed on to ensure that the sound of the marching army column was reduced to the lightest.

Seeing a soldier sitting on a stone on the side of the road, Zhou Yuanying frowned, stepped forward and asked, "Which unit?" ”

The man propped up one foot, raised his head to his chest and saluted, but he couldn't help but twist: "Report to the chief, the deputy Wang Datu of the first company and the second squad of the third regiment and seven battalions." Then he lifted his left foot, "I just stepped on a rock, and the stone rolled, and my foot was broken." The company commander told me to wait for the baggage soldiers in the regiment to find a carriage and then follow me. ”

Zhou Yuanying's heart moved: "Wang Datu is your brother?" ”

Wang Datu scratched his head and said, "That's my second brother." ”

Zhou Yuanying didn't expect that this young man turned out to be Wang Damu's brother. But this is not the time to chat, seeing that the two-wheeled cart of the baggage team behind him came up, he let Wang Datu sit on the baggage car, and he also accelerated his pace and chased forward.

Zhou Yuanying's third regiment, the goal is Taohuadu Water Village. The water village is set up mainly to prevent enemies from coming from the water. After the Yangzhou army occupied Taohuadu Water Village, it also strengthened its defense facilities in the direction of land. However, when the Tang army of Runzhou came to attack, it had to pass through the East Gate military base and the Beigushan camp to attack the water village, so the defenders of the water village could not help but relax.

However, since the Ningguo Army was in the south, the Dongmen Military Base, the Beigushan Camp and the Water Village were all exposed to the Ningguo Army's troops from west to east. At this time, Ma Zhong sent another 10,000 troops to seize the north gate of Runzhou, and sent another 5,000 troops to strengthen the east gate base. In this way, the deployment of the Yangzhou army is 10,000 people outside the north gate, 10,000 people at the east gate military base, about 7,000 camps in Beigushan, and 3,000 in Shuizhai.

The so-called campaign planning is to form one's own superiority in strength and firepower in a local area. Li Congyi used Runzhou City as bait to induce the Yangzhou army to disperse. Then with the Ning Guojun as the main force, the new force of the Yangzhou Army was annihilated in the movement.

By the time of the fifth watch, more than 10,000 people of the Yangzhou Army under the command of Ma Zhong had moved to the north gate of Runzhou to stand by. At this time, there was a report from Tanma, there was an unknown enemy army, the number was about thousands, and it was attacking from the south in the direction of Taohuadu Water Village, and the enemy army was advancing very fast, and it was probably engaged at this time.

Ma Zhong looked at the tower at the north gate of Runzhou City, which was dark and without light. This group of enemy troops who suddenly appeared and attacked the water village, which soldiers and horses were they?

"Could it be Lu Jiang's department?" The commander of the left chamber made He Shengrong suddenly think of a person. "Liu Cheng and Lu Jiang acted in a play for us to see?"

Ma Zhong's heart sank, and he was also worried about this situation.

At this time, a red lantern was lit up on the tower of the North Gate, and circles were constantly drawn in the air.

"My lord is here to sweep the formation, I will lead a thousand people to seize the city gate first!" Seeing the signal from the north gate of Runzhou, He Shengrong was also in good spirits. He Shengrong also saw Ma Zhong's gains and losses, but at this time, he was ready to fly, and if he quit without trying, he would probably regret it for life.

"Good! Take the city gate first and make sure there is no way out! Ma Zhong also made up his mind, that is, when he came to this place, he would always attack the north gate.

At this time, the sky was not clear, and he could barely see, so He Shengrong ordered more than 1,000 people in the fourth battalion to light torches and rush to the north gate outside Lixu.

The gate of the north gate slowly opened, and then the soldiers inside fled one after another, He Shengrong led the team to rush into the city gate, and then attacked the city tower, there was not even a figure along the road, only to see the occasional armor and weapons thrown on the ground along the road. The Tang army's soldiers guarding the north gate broke up on their own? He Shengrong despised Liu Cheng for a few points in his heart, and immediately sent a signal to Ma Zhong to make the whole army enter the city.